Move to mandate parity in pay may hurt pension reform plan

By Blake Paterson

July 17, 2017Updated: July 17, 2017 9:53pm

Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Staff

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Former City Attorney David Feldman, center, talks to media about the more than 32,000 signatures Houston firefighters collected in an effort to put equal pay on the ballot during a press conference outside City Hall on Monday. less

Former City Attorney David Feldman, center, talks to media about the more than 32,000 signatures Houston firefighters collected in an effort to put equal pay on the ballot during a press conference outside City ... more

Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Staff

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Firefighters deliver boxes of more than 32,000 signatures to City Hall on Monday. A unified voting bloc of firefighters could spell trouble for Mayor Sylvester Turner's pension reform plan.

Firefighters deliver boxes of more than 32,000 signatures to City Hall on Monday. A unified voting bloc of firefighters could spell trouble for Mayor Sylvester Turner's pension reform plan.

Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Staff

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Houston firefighters carry boxes filled with more than 32,000 signatures to put equal pay on the ballot to the City Hall Annex building Monday. The petition drive for the equal pay initiative began more than a week ago. less

Houston firefighters carry boxes filled with more than 32,000 signatures to put equal pay on the ballot to the City Hall Annex building Monday. The petition drive for the equal pay initiative began more than a ... more

Houston firefighters delivered over 32,000 signatures to City Hall on Monday in support of asking voters in November to mandate parity in pay between firefighter and police officer ranks, a maneuver that could threaten the city's plans to sell $1 billion in bonds as part of its pension reform plan.

While the two measures are unrelated, both are tied to firefighters' displeasure with the Turner administration.

As such, a unified voting bloc of firefighters during what is expected to be a low-turnout election in November could spell trouble for Mayor Sylvester Turner's signature pension reform plan, and potentially thrust the city back into the fiscal quagmire Turner spent his first year in office trying to escape.

"If one issue is a five-alarm fire, both together are a 10-alarm fire," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

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The proceeds of the pension bonds are intended to go to the city's underfunded police and municipal employee pension systems in exchange for $1.8 billion in benefit cuts Turner negotiated with both groups as part of the overall reform plan aimed at eliminating an $8 billion debt over 30 years.

That would be on top of the $100 million in annual budget deficits the city finance department is projecting for the next five years.

The importance of the pension bonds' passage to the city's financial health was underscored earlier this month when Turner announced he likely would not ask voters also to repeal a imposed revenue cap that has constrained the city's finances and prompted some layoffs in recent years. Turner has said he would like to eliminate the revenue cap, but political experts had said putting it on the ballot could spark a backlash that could doom the pension bonds.

The pay parity referendum could pose a similar threat.

The petition drive for the equal pay initiative began more than a week ago, and followed the fire union's decision last month to sue the city over stalled contract talks, accusing Turner's administration of failing to negotiate in good faith.

'At a breaking point'

The union originally sought a 21 percent pay raise over three years, according to Turner, but lowered that request to 17 percent. The city, meanwhile, offered 9.5 percent over three years, which Turner said would stretch the city's financial capabilities.

Houston firefighters have been without a contract for three years. The "evergreen" terms that had governed their employment during that time lapsed last month, reverting to state law and local ordinance. City Council made the terms in that local ordinance less favorable in a unanimous vote on the same morning the union filed its lawsuit.

"This petition drive was necessary because Houston firefighters are at a breaking point," said Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association at a press conference Monday. "We now are asking the voters to help Houston firefighters because the city refuses to do so."

The petition seeks to amend the city's charter to mandate equal pay and benefits between firefighters and police-officers of similar status, but not necessarily title, accounting for varied rank structures between the two departments.

In a statement responding to the petitions, the mayor called the union's demands "ill-defined," saying there are significant differences between the two departments' workweek, command staff, overtime pay policy and benefits.

"What they are asking voters to sign is ill-defined, and making the most simplistic assumptions could cost the city more than $40 million," Turner said. "That would force the city to schedule layoffs in all department areas or further delay maintenance on buildings and purchase schedules for much needed equipment. The city appreciates and respects every firefighter, but the demands of their union leadership will financially cripple the city, absent removing the revenue cap and a further tax increase."

Good chance to pass

Lancton said the base pay earned by various ranks in the fire department is 13 percent to 23 percent below that earned by police personnel of equivalent rank.

The signatures for the initiative still need to be verified by the city secretary. State law requires 20,000 signatures from qualified voters to place a proposed amendment to the city charter on the ballot.

Houston political consultant Nancy Sims said voters are likely to pass the pay parity referendum.

"People just like their firefighters; they're heroes," she said. "It's very hard when firefighters start pushing something to the broader public for it to not succeed."

And the firefighters have made their displeasure with Turner clear.

The firefighter pension board sued the city over the pension reform plan, which was approved by the state Legislature in May, arguing that it undercuts the board's legal authority. The suit was dismissed by a state district judge.

Though their pension benefits are not contingent on the passage of the $1 billion in bonds, firefighters could spite the city by voting against them anyway.

"I think with both pension and pay parity on the agenda, there's good chance that if firefighters vote uniformly, it could be problematic for the pension issue," Rottinghaus said.